


The Girl Who Got Away

by RunWithWolves



Series: 25 Days of Sweetheart [20]
Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 15:32:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12684720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunWithWolves/pseuds/RunWithWolves
Summary: When Laura wakes up in the hospital after taking down Vordenberg Industries gets more messy than expected, she's not thinking about the story. She's too busy being shocked at the girl sitting next to her bed and holding her hand. Carmilla Karnstein. Laura's old roommate and ex-girlfriend who she only ever broke up with because Carmilla had to move away. The ex-girlfriend that Laura's never quite gotten over because love doesn't vanish when the person does.Her biggest question is why is Carmilla, after being gone for 9 years, the one sitting in the hospital with her? Perhaps the girl who got away was never legally gone at all.





	The Girl Who Got Away

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this real real fast from scratch today so here's hoping! Like i literally just finished it after scrapping the original idea for today because it wasn't working.  
> I started with a 'the one who got away prompt' and then just kept chucking them in there until it was trope central. SO THAT"S SOMETHING AT LEAST.

Something woke Laura up. Her head hurt, her mouth was dry, and Laura was pretty sure she was dying. Her legs were heavy. Groaning, she stretched slightly trying to work out the kink that had settled in her lower back from what felt like the least comfortable bed she’d ever laid on.

She froze. Rubbing her palm against the sheet to confirm the strange feeling. This wasn’t her bed.

Gathering herself, she jerked upright. Ready to fight whatever had clearly made her end up in a bed that wasn’t her own. All she got for her trouble was a headache and a sharp pain in her arm. Her entire body protesting. She forced her eyes open anyway, flailing to try and escape from the blanket. The world was blurry. The room unfamiliar. 

“Laura! Laura. Don’t. You’ll pull out the IV!” There were soft hands grabbing her arms and her blurry eyes focused in on the figure in front of her, leaning over the edge of the bed. The blur disappeared, focusing in on what was impossible. The dark hair and dark eyes. The leather jacket.

Laura blinked, “Carm?”

The softest smile fluttered over the face in front of her. 

That wasn’t possible. There was no way that Carmilla was here. Even so, her heart picked up it’s beat as she searched Carmilla’s face. Carmilla’s face was pale and there were circles under her eyes, partially hidden by dark glasses that framed her eyes. Her hair was pulled back in a sloppy ponytail that remained Laura of lazy dorm-room days spent studying. And.

Laura’s heart stuttered.

Around Carmilla’s neck was an anchor necklace. Her anchor necklace. The necklace that Laura had given her when Carmilla had been forced to transfer back to Europe to be with her family. The necklace Laura had given her as she’d kissed Carmilla on the cheek at the airport and cried even while accepting that she was never going to see her girlfriend again.

Ex-girlfriend. 

The patter in Laura’s chest reminded her of every feeling that she’d never quite been able to let go of. The reason she’d had to break up with Danny and the photo she still kept in her desk drawer.

They’d never really gotten a goodbye. Closure. Carmilla had just been there and then she was gone. That love hadn’t left with her. 

And now the girl who got away was sitting in front of her.

“Hey cupcake,” Only some of the panic faded from Carmilla’s eyes when Laura stopped struggling. Her hands were still soft, transitioning to Laura’s shoulders as she gently lowered Laura back down to the pillow. 

“You’re here.” Laura’s mouth felt like cotton. She pushed through it, grabbing Carmilla’s hand when she tried to let go, “How are you here? Why are you here?”

Carmilla’s gaze swept her face, her thumb softly sweeping against Laura’s skin when Laura refused to let her go, “You’re in the hospital, cupcake. Got yourself into a bit of a mess from what I understand.”

Laura frowned as the memory filed back in. Then her eyes went wide, “Vordenberg Industries! They’re trafficking kids. I found them! They’re in the secret warehouse. The building was coming down.” She gripped Carmilla’s hand tighter, trying to pull herself up again, “Carm. We’ve got to find them.” Her legs didn’t seem to want to move much, “He was going to move them and I was going to get them out. The police were supposed to meet me. We have to find them and-” Her breaths were heavy. Flailing. Why couldn’t she move properly. Why couldn’t-

“Laura.” Carmilla’s hand ripped from her own to cup her face, both hands forcing Laura to look at Carmilla, “They found them. They got the kids out. Vordenberg is on trial. It’s okay. Just breath.” Laura gaze locked onto Carmilla. As calm as Carmilla was trying to be, Laura could see the fear lurking just behind her eyes.

That was enough to snap Laura into falling Carmilla’s breathing, tracing it up and down. In and out. In and out. She was vaguely aware of a nurse buzzing around her, checking machines and doing something or other. 

After nearly a decade apart, she wasn’t interested in anything besides looking at Carmilla a little longer. 

“There you go,” Carmilla said softly, “There you go. Everyone’s okay. You did it, cupcake. Broke the story and saved the people.” 

“Everyone’s okay?” Laura pressed.

Carmilla’s expression flickered between something like a smile of fondness and pure terror, “You’re the most hurt of the bunch. You were still in there when the building collapsed and you’ve been unconscious for days. Days, Laura. You’ve been in and out of surgery and they made me make choices that-” Carmilla cut herself off, shaking her head, “Everyone else is going to be okay. You were the last one.”

Laura took a deep breath, unsure as to when the nurse had left. She looked around the room. Fairly standard as hospital rooms went but there was a laptop in the corner and blanket piled up behind the chair. Wrappers from Carmilla’s favourite brand of chocolate bar were in the trash and a leather bag had clothes spilling out it. 

Only one chair.

“You’ve been here for a while.” Laura shook her head, trying to clear the edges of the fuzziness, “Why are you even here? Not that i’m not grateful. It’s good to see you again. I thought I’d never-” she cut herself off, “Where’s my Dad?”

Carmilla gave the smallest smile, “Probably harassing whatever poor soul has access to a plane, train or automobile. You remember he was doing missions work?”

Laura nodded.

“There was a hurricane and all the planes are downed. He’s still trying to work his way here.” Carmilla shook her head and tapped her cell phone, plugged in beside Laura’s bed. “Not even a hurricane can stop protective Papa Hollis. He calls literally every three hours when he has power.”

“So we’re all okay.” With a deep breath, Laura finally let herself sag against the pillow of the bed. She eyed Carmilla’s hand where it was resting on the bed. Would it be appropriate for her to grab it again? Unbidden, her eyes drifted to Carmilla’s left hand, the one rubbing lines against Carmilla’s thigh. There was no ring. 

She forced herself to move past that, “So,” Laura asked, “Where’s the Doctor? How soon can I get out of here?”

Carmilla scowled and muttered something Laura couldn’t make out.

“What?”

Carmilla tried to arrange her face into something more pleasant, “Don’t rush getting out of here, cupcake. Take your time.”

“That’s not what you said,” Laura pushed.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Laura smacked her over the head with her pillow.

Carmilla emerged, scowling. Then pulled the pillow to her chest, “You’re not getting this back.”

“Tell me.” Laura insisted.

“Laura,” Carmilla shook her head, “No. You need to heal. Not worry.”

“Carmilla,” Laura shot back, “You need to tell me the truth. I know it’s been a while but do you really think I’m going to relax knowing you’re keeping something from me?”

Carmilla shifted in her seat and it was the same dance Laura seen her do a hundred times before she didn’t want to deliver Laura bad news but knowing she had to. She’d always give this to Carmilla - she never hide information from Laura. She just tried to get Laura to agree that she didn’t want to know it.

It never worked. But she was sweet for trying.

“Vordenberg is raising a fuss,” Carmilla said, “He’s sent some goons to harass you. Lots of threats and they can’t even put him away for good until the trial. The cops are guarding the door and they want to put you in a safe house as soon as the Doctor clears you able to move.”

“My leads,” Laura said, “My notes and interviews and-”

Carmilla closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose, sliding the glasses off her face, “Your life might be in danger and you’re worried about your notes? Laura. Come on. Please.”

“Of course I’m worried about my notes!” Laura struggled to sit back up, regretting her throw of the pillow but unwilling to compromise on this, “It doesn’t matter if we don’t nail him! He has to go to jail and I’ve spent months gathering that evidence.”

“The police can do it.”

Laura shook her head, “He’ll cover it all up. He’ll hide it away and then he’ll get away with it. Worse!” Her eyes went wide, “What if he gets a hold of it? There are names of people who he’ll hurt if he gets at them in there and this’ll all be for nothing. He’ll hurt people. My contacts and leads and people that I promised to keep safe and hold confidentiality. People will die! Those notes are literally the most important thing and-”

“I picked up your notes!” Carmilla was half standing, her hands fisted in the sheets, “I picked up your notes while they were literally trying to keep you from dying because I knew we’d have this conversation and you wouldn’t even bother thinking about yourself for even a second if you were too busy worrying about everyone else. I picked them up after 13 hours on a plane because I get a call in the middle of the night from some hospital that my wife, an ex-girlfriend that I could never get out of my head, was literally dying in the hospital and I needed to show up and make literal life and death decisions about her health. Literal life changing decisions for a girl I hadn’t seen in 9 years and I was out getting freaking notes because I knew you’d want them even when you were bleeding out on an operating table.”

She shook her head, “And I got back and I didn’t know what to do. Your foot was crushed and they were asking me what I wanted to do. Honestly, I had no idea what you would have chosen to save it. So I had to pick.” Carmilla’s hands were shaking, “They did an experimental surgery. I talked to the Doctors and made as many calls as I could before I choose but I’m sorry I had to make that choice for you. I’m sorry if that’s not what you would have wanted. I couldn’t let you die.”

Laura froze. Carmilla’s breath was ragged, heavy, and Laura could suddenly see just how tired Carmilla was. Some kind of weight on her shoulders and the leather jacket hanging just a little too loose on her frame. 

She tried for words. Only one squeaked out, “Wife?”

Carmilla closed her eyes. Shook her head. Laughed weakly. “Apparently,” she said, “You remember pride? How that minister was just marrying anyone on the street who wanted it and how we were maybe a little drunk and in love and thought it was a joke so we went for it in case that asshole decided to strip away our rights? You wanted to joke that we’d been ‘gay married’ at least once?” Carmilla’s sad laugh punched Laura right in the gut, “Surprise. Apparently it wasn’t a joke.”

“Your wife.” It was still the only word Laura could come up with.

Carmilla slumped, “Surprise to both of us.” 

Laura struggled to sit up a little farther, wincing at a tightness she hadn’t noticed in her chest. Immediately Carmilla was there, putting the pillow back behind her. Laura caught her hand instead, “I’m sorry.”

Carmilla’s eyes practically bulged out of her head, “You’re in a hospital. What could you possibly be sorry about?”

“That you were dragged into all of this and that they interrupted your life and you had to fly all the way across the ocean for me. Some girl you used to date. You’ve probably got a girlfriend and this just messed everything up for you.” Laura’s heart ached at the words but she forced them out, “I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”

“Laura,” Carmilla’s word was a groan and a prayer and plea. She ran a hand through her hair, letting the ponytail cascade through her fingers, “For Pete’s sake, you’ve got stitches in your chest from where they had to remove a metal beam from your heart, burns down your side, a truly inordinate number of stitches in too many places for me remember, a concussion, there’s a whole thing with your foot, and you were literally in a coma for days. Don’t worry about my life or a long flight!”

“But you don’t look good,” Laura said, “That’s the worry about getting back and I know your family needs you and-”

A soft finger hit her lips and Laura tried not to think about every time Carmilla had kissed her to stop one of her rambles.

“I was worried about you.” Carmilla said, “Everything else can wait until you’re not dying or in imminent danger of dying. After that I can worry about my job and we can get divorced so your Dad can go back to being your emergency contact.”

Her heart suddenly hurt worse than anything else. 

“Okay,” Laura looked down at the end of the bed, “Okay.”

There was silence in the room, broken only by the beep of the machines. Laura simply held onto Carmilla’s hand as she stared. A part of her was worried that if she let go, Carmilla would disappear into memory again. Nothing more than a coma dream. 

She closed her eyes against the tears at memories of the last time she’d held Carmilla’s hand. The words slipped out, “Did you miss me?”

Carmilla didn’t even hesitate, “Like someone cut a hole in me.” She squeezed Laura’s hand just a little harder and for a little longer. Laura nodded, taking another deep breath and forcing back the tears and every single feeling that was welling up inside from seeing the girl she’d loved so deeply all over again.

“I’m okay with the foot thing,” Laura said. She made sure to meet Carmilla’s gaze, “I trust you.”

“You don’t even know me anymore,” Carmilla said.

But I still love you. The thought lingered but Laura pushed it aside, “Well, I trust you anyway.”

Carmilla shook her head but there was the edge of a smile on her lips, “Seems like you haven’t changed, cupcake. Too quick to trust. Running into danger.”

“Says the girl still wearing leather and telling me not to trust people,” Laura shot back.

“The leather is a classic,” Carmilla argued. Laura just smiled. She wouldn’t have argued anyway. Carmilla looked great in leather.

There was a gentle knock at the door, drawing their attention. A doctor poked her head in, “Excuse me ladies but I heard Mrs Hollis was awake and I wanted to check in. The sooner we can get the two of you to the safe house, the better.”

Laura frowned as Carmilla pulled her hand away, “The two of us?”

“Of course,” the Doctor said, “Vordenberg’s been making threats against both you and you’re wife. We’ll be getting you both into witness protection together as soon as possible. Make up a little life for the two of you. New identities. Think of it as a little vacation. Idyllic married bliss until the trial. Shouldn’t be more than a few months.”

“He’s been threatening you!” Laura whirled to Carmilla.

“I’m fine,” Carmilla protested. 

The Doctor spoke at the same time, “I believe there was an altercation in the parking lot. We’ve asked your wife to stay in your room or with one of the guards since. Don’t worry,” the Doctor added at what must have been Laura’s expression, “We patched her side up and she’s fine.”

Laura lunged, manhandling Carmilla into letting her pull up her shirt and touch the bandage wrapped around her side just below her rib. For a moment, Laura thought Carmilla’s breath caught as she touched the edges of her skin.

“Tattletale,” Carmilla muttered instead.

“That’s why we’ll be getting the two of you into your identities soon.” The Doctor started examining her chart. “Everything will be okay.”

Everything would most definitely not be okay. Not only was she married to the girl who got away but now she was about to literally pretend to be her loving, happily married, wife for the next few months with no way out.

Laura sank back into the pillows. 

Breaking the Vordenberg case had been easy when compared to trying not to fall in love with Carmilla in the next few months.

She took a deep breath. But she was Laura Hollis and there was nothing she couldn’t do.

**Author's Note:**

> Did you really think we'd get through this without some kind of fake dating/marriage story ;) This time, they're even actually technically married!
> 
> Cupcakes. Every time I think you can't get nicer you somehow do and leave wonderful comments and send me nice notes and tell me to take my time and get some sleep. Just, your graciousness is outstanding and thank you so much for your care. Thank you for every comment, kudos, [ tumblr stop-in,](http://ariabauer.tumblr.com/) and nice thought. Just thank you. Stay stupendous. Aria.


End file.
